events

NEQM: Contemporary MASSters

At right: Lotus Eaters, 2002 by Sandra Townsend Donabed. Learn more about the quilters and the quilts listed in this article at the museum site.

The New England Quilt Museum will mark its 20th anniversary in 2007. Three of the five special exhibits in 2007 will celebrate this anniversary. The first, “Contemporary MASSters from the NEQM Collection�, features 14 quilts in the Permanent Collection made by Massachusetts quilt artists, accompanied by 19 examples of their recent creations. The exhibition, curated by Anita B. Loscalzo, will be on display at the New England Quilt Museum from 13 January to 24 March 2007.

Quilters from Massachusetts were in the forefront of the art quilt movement of the last quarter of the 20th century, participating in the Quilts ‘76 exhibition at the Boston Center for the Arts, hailed as a showcase for “a new art form” by one art critic, and the first Quilt National in 1979. The NEQM is privileged to have the works of so many pioneers of the art quilt movement included in its collection: Judy Becker’s Only in New York; Rhoda Cohen’s A Green Lowland of Pianos; Barbara Crane’s Tree and Leaf; Nancy Crasco’s Withering Wetlands Triptych; Sandy Donabed’s Lotus Eaters; Radka Donnell’s Demeter’s Return; Sylvia Einstein’s Acid Rain; Beatriz Grayson’s The Maple Leaves; Carol Anne Grotrian’s Light of Liberty; Nancy Halpern’s Archipelago; Suzanne Knapp’s Arabian Gold; and Ruth McDowell’s Bee Balm Screen and Bloodroot. Welsh #1, by Mary Walter, is the latest addition to quilts made by artists from Massachusetts. These artists continue to create exciting new works, as evidenced by the 19 more recent quilts on display, and to teach and inspire quilters in New England, the United States, and the world.

On Saturday, 20 January at 1p.m., there will be a gathering of the artists to discuss their work and the beginnings of the quilt revival in New England. The event is free with admission to the Museum.

On Saturday, 10 February at 1 p.m. Nancy Halpern will give an illustrated lecture about the art quilt movement, “Last Quarter 20th Century.” Admission to the lecture is $5 for Museum members and $8 for non-members. This exhibition is funded in part by the Narragansett Bay Quilters’ Association.

Museum hours are 10 AM - 4 PM Tuesday - Saturday. Admission is $5 for adults, $4 for students/senior citizens; Museum members are admitted free. Handicapped parking is available.

The New England Quilt Museum preserves, interprets, and celebrates American quilting past and present. Located in historic Lowell, Massachusetts, the heart of America’s 19th century textile industry, the Museum offers changing exhibitions of contemporary and antique quilts. A private, non-profit organization, the Museum is supported by members’ fees, admission charges, museum store sales, private donations, and gifts and grants from foundations, corporations, and government agencies, including the Lowell Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.

© 2007 QuiltsHome.